Sixteen bodies were recovered from two villages hit by an avalanche near a mountain tunnel about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, an army spokesman said.

About 40 people were missing from the villages and army teams with sniffer dogs were searching for survivors, Lieutenant Colonel V.K. Batra said.

Earlier in the day, 11 bodies were recovered after an avalanche hit Loren village in southern Poonch district, police said, while 12 deaths were reported overnight from similar snow-related accidents in Doda, Udhampur, Srinagar and Budgam district.

Two people were killed in a house collapse in Dras district.

This takes the death toll in two weeks of heavy snow to 69, including 19 soldiers.

More bodies were believed to be trapped in the snow at Loren, police said, adding that army rescue teams had reached the scene.

Army personnel earlier rescued some 35 civilians when an avalanche hit them in Kishtwar district, police said.

"It's a state of emergency and the government is doing its best to cope with the situation," state minister Peer Zaada Mohammed Sayeed said.

Srinagar has been without power for three days. Officials said it would take at least three days to restore even minimum power in the city, often plagued by blackouts.

"It's the heaviest snowfall in two decades," G.K. Mohanti, head of the state meteorological department, told AFP.

Normal life in Srinagar came to a halt after several feet of snow blanketed the city, with shops and markets closed and people not venturing out.

Road links were cut, causing a shortage of essential supplies. Continuous snow in the region since late Thursday also halted air travel.

A police officer said more than 1,500 people were stranded along a snowbound highway between Srinagar and the winter capital Jammu and motorists were being housed in emergency accommodation.

Indian troops posted to the region to fight Islamic rebels have been ordered to help in relief operations, said Lieutenant General Hari Prasad, who heads the army's northern command.

"We have set up three medical camps on the (Jammu-Srinagar) highway where doctors will provide free checkups and medicines to those down with weather-related problems," Prasad said.

"Soldiers posted in the upper reaches and far-flung areas of Kashmir have been directed to restore road traffic and communication systems that stand totally paralysed," Prasad added.

The bleak weather conditions failed to disrupt an international ski competition at Gulmarg, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Srinagar, Sunday.

Organisers, who were mulling cancellation of the two-day event, decided to continue when a team from Norway managed to reach the venue.

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